The Westminster Tradition

By: The Westminster Tradition
  • Summary

  • Unpacking lessons for the public service, starting with the Robodebt Royal Commission.
    In 2019, after three years, Robodebt was found to be unlawful. The Royal Commission process found it was also immoral and wildly inaccurate. Ultimately the Australian Government was forced to pay $1.8bn back to more than 470,000 Australians. In this podcast we dive deep into public policy failures like Robodebt and the British Post Office scandal - how they start, why they're hard to stop, and the public service lessons we shouldn't forget.
    © 2025 The Westminster Tradition
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Episodes
  • Mike Kaiser, former DG of Department of Premier and Cabinet (Qld)
    Dec 30 2024

    Mike Kaiser, recently departed head of the Queensland Public Service, joins us to chat about the interface between political offices and the public service, lessons from robodebt, why delivery is everything in government and the secret of leadership.

    Now for some appropriately bureaucratic disclaimers....

    While we have tried to be as thorough in our research as busy full time jobs and lives allow, we definitely don’t guarantee that we’ve got all the details right.

    If you want rigorous reporting on Robodebt, we recommend the work of Rick Morton at the Saturday Paper, Chris Knaus and Luke Henriques-Gomes at the Guardian, Ben Eltham at Crikey, Julian Bajkowski at The Mandarin, and of course, the Robodebt Royal Commission itself.

    Please feel free to email us corrections, episode suggestions, or anything else, at thewestminstertraditionpod@gmail.com.

    Thanks to PanPot audio for our intro and outro music.

    'Til next time!

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    49 mins
  • The State of the Service - drawing the threads from Coombs to Thodey to where we are now
    Dec 16 2024

    Danielle unpacks the recently released APS State of the Service, with a look over our should at where we’ve come from - from the 1976 Coombs Royal Commission on Australian Government Administration, to the 2019 Thodey Review of the APS.

    How are women, First Nations and people with disability going in the APS? What about class?

    Now for some appropriately bureaucratic disclaimers....

    While we have tried to be as thorough in our research as busy full time jobs and lives allow, we definitely don’t guarantee that we’ve got all the details right.

    If you want rigorous reporting on Robodebt, we recommend the work of Rick Morton at the Saturday Paper, Chris Knaus and Luke Henriques-Gomes at the Guardian, Ben Eltham at Crikey, Julian Bajkowski at The Mandarin, and of course, the Robodebt Royal Commission itself.

    Please feel free to email us corrections, episode suggestions, or anything else, at thewestminstertraditionpod@gmail.com.

    Thanks to PanPot audio for our intro and outro music.

    'Til next time!

    Show More Show Less
    34 mins
  • What the NACC is going on? Updates on Robodebt and the National Anti-Corruption Commission
    Dec 2 2024

    Keeping track of the National Anti-Corruption Commission and Robodebt is tricky - first there's no investigation, then there's some kind of review, then there's a search for an eminent person....

    In this episode, we talk about where things are at, managing conflicts of interest, and whether corruption always involves brown paper bags.

    For Rick Morton's reporting on this:

    • Eight minutes outside: how the NACC failed on robodebt
    • NACC dumped Gleeson over concerns for Coalition
    • NACC integrity officer quits over integrity

    Other recommended reads:

    • Annabel Crabb's article on PM Albanese's response to the Qantas upgrades controversy
    • Joe Aston's book The Chairman's Lounge

    Opening grab features National Anti-Corruption Commissioner Paul Brereton, appearing before the NACC Parliamentary Joint Committee, 22 November 2024.

    Now for some appropriately bureaucratic disclaimers....

    While we have tried to be as thorough in our research as busy full time jobs and lives allow, we definitely don’t guarantee that we’ve got all the details right.

    If you want rigorous reporting on Robodebt, we recommend the work of Rick Morton at the Saturday Paper, Chris Knaus and Luke Henriques-Gomes at the Guardian, Ben Eltham at Crikey, Julian Bajkowski at The Mandarin, and of course, the Robodebt Royal Commission itself.

    Please feel free to email us corrections, episode suggestions, or anything else, at thewestminstertraditionpod@gmail.com.

    Thanks to PanPot audio for our intro and outro music.

    'Til next time!

    Show More Show Less
    33 mins

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